New York [US], February 1: The United States' streak of more than 15 years without a major fatal airline crash has been the envy of other countries and a model for other industries, but the country's luck eventually ran out on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported.
Sixty-seven people are presumed dead after an American Airlines regional jet collided midair with a U.S. Army helicopter Wednesday night. The crash near Washington, D.C. marked the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States in 23 years and prompted officials to spotlight broader issues that have lingered in the industry.
"Air-traffic control has long had staffing limitations," noted the report. "Close-call incidents on the ground and in the air have rattled the country's airports. A post-pandemic hiring spree brought an influx of pilots newer to flying particular aircraft, or advancing rapidly through the ranks, raising concerns within airlines about their experience levels."
Meanwhile, officials for years focused on stamping out less-serious incidents seen as preludes to more catastrophic ones, it added. Before Wednesday, the last U.S. airline passenger plane crash was in 2009. The crash of a Colgan Air Bombardier turboprop near Buffalo, New York, killed 49 passengers and crew.
Source: Xinhua
